Stay-cutting attachment for sewing-machines



(No Model.)

A. L. GOOMBS.

STAY CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Patented July 28, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAM L. .COOMBS, OF SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS.

STAY-CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,692, dated July 28,1891. Application filed February 4:, 1891. Serial No. 380,118. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ABRAM L. CooMns, of Saugus, in the county of Essexand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvementin a Stay-Cutting Mechanism for Sewing-Machines, which will, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, be hereinafter fullydecribed, and specifically defined in the appended claims.

My invention relates to a stay-cutting mechanism for sewing-machines,employed to reenforce the seams of shoe-uppers and other articles bymeans of a strip or tape of strengthening material called a stay, whichis extended along and over the back of the seam and secured on eitherside thereof by a line of stitches passing through the stay and theparts of the upper or article thus seamed together. A two-needle ordouble-stitching machine is usually employed for such purposes, and itis customary when thus staying the seams of boots or shoes to complete(except as hereinafter stated) the staying of one seam after anotherWithout severing the continuous stay-tape, which is drawn from a rollthereof, until a number of shoes have had their seams so stayed.Thenbyanotheroperation they are separated from each other by cutting theconheating-tape by hand with common scissors or a knife. The exceptionreferred to is in the case of What is termed overlap shoes, in which thestay is omitted near the edge to avoid too much thickness, as the edgehas to be turned, and to thus omit the stay the operator is obliged tostop the machine and cut the stay with scissors on each shoe.

The object of my invention is to enable the operator to readilyaccomplish such cutting as the staying of the seams progresses by meansof a device attached to the stitchingmachine, which may beinstantaneously operated to sever the tape and without stopping themachine, and which, when the cutter reacts, will advance or feed forwardthe end of the tape to the stitching devices, to be by them drawn outagain to the extent required, thus saving time and labor and avoidinghandling the goods over so many times; and myinvention consists in thenovel devices and con1binations of mechanism hereinafter fullydescribed, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of adetachable portion ot the bed of a stitching-machine having my inventionapplied thereto, and also showing a portion of the overhanging stitchingdevices of a twoneedle machine in their proper relation to my saidattachment. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same, omitting the upperportion of the stitching devices shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan ofthat part of the machinebed to which my invention is attached. Fig. a isa vertical section as on line a? m, Fig. 3, and as viewed from the leftof said line.

A represents a detachable portion of a machine-bed to which myattachment is applied.

B is the usual needle-plate, having two needle-holes 0 arranged thereindiagonally in accordance with the positions of the two needles in theirbar, and apertures D, through which the roughened surface of theunderlying feed-bar acts upon the material being stitched to feed thesame along in the usual manner.

E is a guideplate covering a groove in the bed, in which the stay-tape Fis passed to the needles and feed, when it is drawn along by the latteras the stitching progresses. To the downward-projecting flange G of thebedpiece A, upon its back or rear side, (see Figs. 2 and at.) I pivot atH a lever I. To a thin end of the lever I, I pivotally connect at J ablade K, which has an open slot at its lower end tilted to slide on ascrew-stud L, as shown, while its upper end is beveled to a cuttingedge.At the opposite end of lever I is shown a thumb-stud M, which passesdown through a hole in bed A and is threaded into the end of lever I, asshown in Fig. 2. A spring N is secured to flange G and arranged touplift by its elastic force this end of the lever. An adjustablestop-screw l" is threaded into lever I, so as to project more or lessand str ke against the under side of bed A, thereby limiting, accordingto adjustment of the screw, the upward movement of the outer end oflever I. A similar stop-screw P is arranged in said lever to limit inlike manner the upward movement of the inner end of the lever and thecutting-blade attached thereto. By depressing the thtunb-stud M theouter end of the lever is forced downward against the force of spring N,and at the same time the IOO inner end of the lever, together with theblade K, is raised until the stop P comes in contact with the bed, atwhich time the cutt-ingedge of the blade will have been raised, througha slot in the bed, high enough to have sheared by the back edge of plateE, and in its passage will have cut off the interposed st-ay-tape. Thenthe depressing force being removed from stud M spring N will re turn theseveral parts to their original position.

It is necessary, after severing the tape as just described, to have somemeans for bold ing the same in its guide and advancing the end thereofagain to the needles and feeding devices of the stitching-machine, sothat it will go on with the next stitching operation. To accomplish thispurpose I employ a lever R, pivoted in a yoke S, secured to the front offlange G, as shown. A pin T, fixed in lever R, projects through a slotin flange G and into the path of the inner end of lever I. Lever Rcarries a pawl U, pivoted to its upper end. This pawl is arranged toextend up through an opening in the bed into the path of the stay-tapeand to bear against the tape when itis extended through itsguiding-groove. One arm of a springV holds the lever R forward againstflange G, while another arm of the same spring holds the pawl up to thetape. When the cutter-lever I is employed, as described, to raise thecuttingblade, such movement brings lever I into contact with pin T, andthereby forces pin T upward and backward, turning lever R back upon itspivot and retracting pawl U before the cutting takes place, and afterthe cutting is thus accomplished, as the cutter is drawn down and thepin T is released by such reverse movement, sprin'g Vforces lever R for-Ward again, and with it pawl U, the latter forcing the tape, with whichit is in contact, along with it into position to be seized by themachine feed and carried under the needles to be stitched as before.

I claim-- 1. The combination, with a sewing-machine having a groove inits bed-plate adapted to receive a stay-tape, of a plate over thegroove, a cutting -blade adapted to be reciprocated transversely acrossthe groove and against one edge of the plate, means for operating theblade, and an auxiliary feed mechanism to engage with and carry the tapeforward to be operated upon by the stitch-forming mechanism of thesewing-machine, substantially as described.

2. In a stay-tape-cntting attachment for sewing-machines, thecombination of a lever adapted to be operated independently of themachine, a cutting-blade secured thereto, an auxiliary feed mechanismengaging with and operated by the lever, and a plate above the feedadapted to coact therewith and with the blade to cut the tape, hold it,and feed it forward after it has been cut, substantially as described.

3. In a stay-cutting attachment to a sewingmachine, the combination ofthe actuatinglever I, provided with adjustable stop-screws P and P forlimiting its movement, a vertically-movable blade pivotally secured toone end of said lever, a guide for the blade, and a plate E, arrangedopposite to and to co-operate with the blade K to effect the cutting,all substantially as specified.

4. In a stay-cutting attachment to a sewingmachine, the combination,with devices for cutting thestay, of a lever R, provided with aprojecting pin T, engaging with and operated by the cutting mechanism, apawl U, piv oted to lever R, and spring V, acting upon both the pawl andlever, all substantially as and for the purposes specified.

ABRAM L. COOMBS.

Witnesses:

EUGENE HUMPHREY, CLARA L. POWER.

